Pandemic postpones awards
The 2021 Grammy Awards will no longer take place this month in Los Angeles and will broadcast in March due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.
The annual show would shift from its original Jan. 31 broadcast to March 14, according to a joint statement released Tuesday from the Recording Academy and CBS, which broadcasts the ceremony. The statement said the decision was reached “after thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host and artists scheduled to appear.”
The Grammys will be held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Los Angeles County, the epicenter of the crisis in California, has surpassed 11,000 COVID19 deaths and has had 40% of the deaths in California. It is the third state to reach the 25,000 death count.
An average of six people die every hour from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents. County health officials fear the incoming Christmas and New Year’s surge. The new Grammys date coincides with the scheduled hosting of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which is typically held at another downtown Los Angeles venue, the Shrine Auditorium. That show honors the best performances in film and television.
“The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah is set to host the 2021 Grammys, where Beyoncé is leading contender with nine nominations. She scored nominations for song and record of the year with “Black Parade,” which she released on Juneteenth, while “Savage” — her No. 1 collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion — picked up bids for record of the year, best rap song and best rap performance.
Singer sorry for Florida performance
Terri Nunn is really sorry for her New Year’s Eve gig. She had no idea it would upset people — or be seen as political.
That’s what the lead singer of ’80s hitmakers Berlin said after performing at President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. Nunn said she “would not have done so if I’d known what I learned while I was there,” referring to what she called a shocking “lack of regard for the pandemic.”
“My goal in performing was not to support a political party,” the “Take My Breath Away” singer said in a statement posted on the band’s Facebook page. “I see now that that’s not the way it appeared and I am apologetic for that as well.” On social media on New Year’s Day, people were disavowing their fandom for the band and for the singer, with many misunderstanding that it had been a Nunn gig, not a Berlin performance. The L.a.-based band broke up in 1987 (and reunited last year), but Nunn retained the rights to perform under the name.
Berlin co-founder and keyboardist David Diamond tweeted Friday, “I want to make clear that I was not at this show, nor did I ever plan to attend. I spent the evening at my home in #Truckee. Happy new year everyone!”
Trump ultimately didn’t attend the event either, having cut his Florida vacation short and returned to Washington, D.C., earlier on New Year’s Eve. However, among the 500 guests at the annual party were Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Lara and Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Nunn said on Facebook that the event was pitched to her in the contract as a small, coronavirus-safe New Year’s Eve event for club members. Other performers on the bill were Vanilla Ice, Taylor Dayne and the Mike Love-led incarnation of the Beach Boys.